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NEW YORK -- Serena Williams big lead in the U.S. Open final suddenly was gone. Her serve was shaky. Her hard-hitting opponent, Victoria Azarenka, was presenting problems, and so was the gusting wind. A couple of foot-fault calls added to the angst. As a jittery Williams headed to the sideline after dropping a set for the first time in the tournament, she chucked her racket, which ricocheted onto the court. When play resumed, in the crucible of a third set, Williams put aside everything and did what she does best: She came through in the clutch to win a major match. Facing her only test of the past two weeks, the No. 1-seeded Williams overcame No. 2 Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1 on Sunday for her 17th Grand Slam championship. "When youre always trying to write history, or join history in my case, maybe you just get a little more nervous than you should. I also think its kind of cool, because it means that it means a lot to you. It means a lot to me, this trophy," Williams said, pointing her right hand at her fifth silver cup from the U.S. Open, "and every single trophy that I have." That collection keeps growing. Williams has won twice in a row at Flushing Meadows -- beating Azarenka in three sets each time -- and four of the past six major tournaments overall. Her 17 titles are the sixth-most in history for a woman, only one behind Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, and the same total as the mens record-holder, Roger Federer. "It feels really good to be in that same league as him," said Williams, who earned $3.6 million in prize money. This one did not come easily, even though it appeared to be nearly over when Williams went ahead by two breaks at 4-1 in the second set. She served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 -- only to have the gutsy Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open winner, break each time. Williams is 67-4 with a career-high nine titles in 2013, but two of those losses came against Azarenka. A year ago, they played the first three-set womens final in New York since 1995. This time, they went the distance again, a total of 2 hours, 45 minutes, because Azarenka was superior in the tiebreaker. "I got a little uptight, which probably wasnt the best thing at that moment," Williams said. "I wasnt playing very smart tennis then, so I just had to relax and not do that again." So after the second set, Williams gave herself a pep talk. She regrouped and regained control. "In the third set, Serena really found a way to calm down and restart from zero and quickly erase what happened," said her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. Azarenka helped a bit, with two of her seven double-faults coming when she got broken to trail 3-1 in the third. That pretty much sealed it, because Williams was not about to falter again. "Shes a champion, and she knows how to repeat that. She knows what it takes to get there. I know that feeling, too. And when two people who want that feeling so bad meet, its like a clash," Azarenka said, pounding her fists together. At the outset, though, the 15 mph wind that swirled in Arthur Ashe Stadium bothered Williams as much as Azarenka did. "It wasnt pleasant," Azarenka said. Williams caught service tosses. She grabbed at her skirt to keep it from flying up. Most troubling, she was thrown off by balls that danced oddly. Six of the first 16 points ended with unforced errors by Williams, which allowed Azarenka to go ahead 2-1. Looking hesitant at times, Williams did not show the same dominance she had while dropping only 16 games during six victories through the semifinals. "The wind was unbelievable today," Williams said. "It just got worse and worse. It just never let up." She needed to adjust, and she did. Her serve, as usual, made a big difference: Williams hit nine aces, one at 126 mph. Still, four times, Azarenka was only two points from taking the opening set. At one such moment, with Williams serving at deuce after a double-fault, she was called for a foot fault, erasing what would have been a 121 mph ace. There was another foot-fault call in the second set, too. They brought back memories of the Americans loss to Kim Clijsters in the 2009 semifinals, when Williams was docked a point, and later fined, for a tirade against a line judge over a foot-fault call. There was no such outburst directed at officials this time, although there was that racket toss. After the call in the matchs 10th game, Williams simply put a hand to her face, composed herself, and won the point with a down-the-line backhand she celebrated with a fist pump, some foot stomping and a yell of "Come on!" Williams wound up holding there with a 104 mph ace, part of what seemed to be a match-altering stretch. She won five consecutive games and 16 of 18 points to take the first set and go up a break in the second. "You could see she clicked," Mouratoglou said. "She realized she was not aggressive enough. She was letting Vika dictate too much, and all of a sudden, things completely changed." Well, at least for a while. Azarenka did manage to make competitive again, which shouldnt surprise anyone. She was, after all, 31-1 on hard courts entering Sunday, including a victory over Williams last month at Mason, Ohio. But when it came time to close the deal yet again, Williams shined. She delivered six of the third sets eight winners and forced Azarenka into 15 miscues. Soon enough, Williams was hopping up and down after finishing with a service winner. She kept pumping her fist afterward, even while sipping from a water bottle. "She really made it happen," Azarenka said. "In that particular moment, she was tougher today. She was more consistent, and she deserved to win." Williams became the first woman to surpass $9 million in prize money in a single season, while topping $50 million for her career. She also equaled Steffi Graf with five U.S. Open titles, one behind Everts record of six in the Open era, which began in 1968. Williams never had won two consecutive U.S. Opens, but now she has, adding to the trophies she earned in New York in 1999 -- at age 17 -- then 2002 and 2008. Those go alongside five from Wimbledon, five from the Australian Open, and two from the French Open, which she won this year. "Being older, its always awesome and such a great honour, because I dont know if Ill ever win another Grand Slam. Obviously I hope so," said Williams, who turns 32 on Sept. 26. "Its different now, because when I won earlier, it was just one or two or three or four. Now its like 16, 17. It has more meaning (for) history, as opposed to just winning a few." Air Max Saldi Outlet . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. 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Zdeno Chara scored with 13 seconds left in regulation after David Krejci tied it late, lifting the Bruins to a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night in a game that saw Orpik taken from the ice on a stretcher.PORTLAND, OREGON – Uruguayan midfielder Sebastian Fernandez scored his first goal of the preseason as Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Portland Timbers played to a hard-fought 1-1 draw Saturday at Providence Park. After the host Timbers opened the scoring in the third minute, Fernandez smashed home a late second-half penalty to salvage Whitecaps FCs undefeated record at the Rose City Invitational. The Caps finish the tournament as the top team with a 2W-0L-1D record and enter next weekends season opener undefeated in four preseason matches. Vancouvers squad on Saturday looked similar to the one that defeated Portmore United 5-1 last weekend, though there were a few changes. Right back Ethen Sampson and striker Kenny Miller came in to replace Steven Beitashour and Darren Mattocks, who are both away on international duty. Midfielder Gershon Koffie also drew into the starting lineup, which moved Russell Teibert up to the right wing. And goalkeeper David Ousted made his first appearance of the tournament. Saturdays contest got off to a physical start at Providence Park, which is often the norm in meetings between these Cascadia rivals. In fact, there were a total of 16 fouls committed in the first half alone. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, however, an early foul led to Portlands first goal of the match – a Will Johnson free kick from 25 yards in the third minute. The Caps nearly equalized a few minutes later when Fernandez let loose a curling strike from distance, but Timbers goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts tipped it just over the goal. Aside from the early marker, there wasnt much between Vancouver and Portland in the opening 45 minutes. The host Timbers came oon in spurts, but the Caps back line anchored by Jay DeMerit and Andy OBrien kept them at bay.dddddddddddd For Whitecaps FC, Uruguayan midfielder Nicolas Mezquida looked particularly dangerous. The 22-year-old showed great vision on a throughball to Miller in the 18th minute and some nifty footwork in midfield a few minutes later. The Caps couldnt connect in the final third, however, and it just about cost them . Portland had a great chance to double their lead in the 35th minute, as Maximilano Urruti slipped behind the Caps defence only to float his ensuing effort over the crossbar. They came close again just after the break, when Darlington Nagbe found some space in the middle of the park before letting loose a heavy strike from 20 yards that went just wide. At the other end of the park, Whitecaps FC showed some attacking flair again in the second half. And they received a boost just after the hour-mark, when local lad Erik Hurtado and Argentine midfielder came Matias Laba into the match – followed shortly by winger/striker Kekuta Manneh. And the trio combined to set up Vancouvers equalizer in the 79th minute. After a receiving a pass from Laba in midfield, Hurtado took a touch and released Manneh into the box before the Gambian was hauled down by Timbers defender Jack Jewsbury. Then Fernandez smashed home the ensuing penalty kick to level the score at 1-1. Manneh had a pair of half-chances in the dying stages of the match, but in the end the Cascadia rivals battled to a hard-fought 1-1 draw – just as they did in each of their three regular season meetings in 2013. With the draw, Whitecaps FC conclude the preseason with 4W-2L-1D record. ' ' '